Contempt battle explodes on CNN

Fast and Furious documents sought by Congressional Republicans must “stink to high heaven” for President Barack Obama to assert executive privilege to withhold them from lawmakers, a top NRA official said Thursday, speculating the records would reveal the administration’s anti-gun agenda.

“We want the truth out,” said Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president, on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “Something in these papers must stink to high heaven for the administration to walk into this briar patch. Executive privilege is the last gasp of a coverup. We need the truth. It looks like the only way we’ll get it is if we proceed with contempt. I think the attorney general ought to resign. I think there ought to be a special prosecutor, to tell you the truth, because a coverup is a crime.”

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Attorney General Eric Holder has delivered some 7,000-odd documents to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee already. Republicans have been trying for a year to force Holder to comply with a subpoena to hand over more. Their effort culminated Wednesday with a party-line committee vote to cite Holder for contempt of Congress.

But Rep. Elijah Cummings insisted the president had to assert executive privilege over documents.

“I thought the president had no choice,” said Cummings, the committee’s top Democrat, who appeared separately on CNN. “This is a situation that could have been avoided if the Republicans had been a little bit reasonable. These were deliberative documents that all attorney generals have held close and not released. … [Obama] had to inject himself into the process.”

Cummings said committee Chairman Darrell Issa, a California Republican, was determined to embarrass the president, while LaPierre claimed the entire Fast and Furious operation was an attempt by the Obama administration to gain support for an anti-gun agenda.

Like the NRA ever had a problem with loose guns. Wow a border patrol agent got killed. So did Trayvon Martin and God knows how many others thanks to crazy lax gun laws supported by who??? THE NRA. They're despicable.

Cummings is a complete and utter toadie. He is merely spouting the DOJ line. Presidents have time and again complied with subpeona;s to release documents, including documents that contained "deliberative material" AG Holder has only provided 7,000 pages of material, and is withholding another 140,000 pages. So he has only provided about 5% of the documents requested. And AG Holder claims that 95% of all the documents related to this case are "deliberative"? That doesn't pass the laugh test, and Cummings knows it.

Holder offered to turn over "some" of the documents in exchange for dropping the investigation into F&F entirely. No CMTE Chair would do such a thing under any circumstances. At the very least, he would want to review the documents first.

Cummings will be "outed" as a prevaricator, just as Obama and Holder will, when these documents are finally made available. Its not like they won't be released eventually. The will be. It might take two years of fighting in court (or as little as three months if they use civil court), but they will be released.

Not only did DOJ withhold 95% of all the files, they redacted the 5% they did release. This is an astounding level of cover-up. And La Pierre is right when he speculates that there must be a real stinkeroo in those documents.

Holder just appointed 2 attorneys to investigate the White House Leaks. The democrats refused to have the investigation done independently. The President just used his Executive Power at Holders request to protect documents on Fast and Furious. Holder is not going to find any White House Leaks and they will not have enough information on Fast and Furious to do anything to Holder. There is no transparency, but this is pretty obvious.

The article forgets, as read into the record during one of the many hearings... There are emails stating this could be used to renew the Assault weapons ban.... from one justice official to another... There was more they read one that specifically laid out how it wa sto be used for that...... NRA is 100% correct intheir conclusions... the fact back it up 100%...

Facts... The left keeps forgeting about those pesky facts... I have seen no evidence that Obama knew anything. Obviously these blocks records show some obvious knowledge by atleast Holder and also proves there has been some lying going on. If they did not contain this there would be NO reason to block them.....

Also why is justice blocking atleast one whistle blower from testifying? This person wants to testify but Holder will not allow it.... hmmm more smoke.... I am betting there is fire...

People where killed as result of this operation. Even if it was a mistake and only that, you still to lay out what happened so you can stop it from happening again. Yes there will be job losses, there already has been a few..... But there is only one logical reason to block... everyone knows that.

Atleast when Bush used it, it was never used to stop law enforcement. It was used to block politics... Also it was used to keep communications from advisors and bush confidential as they should be. No one is asking Obama to release records of him and Axlerod's conversations, of that crazy Jarret lady... This is official justice department records......between justice officials... all the properpty of the american people....

Also when is the left going to quit telling lies... Wide Receiver was completely different opperation. Approved by all sides, and the guns had be set to be electronically tracked... Once the technology failed the operation was terminated... clearly different and actually design to track the guns within Mexico... again with Mexico being on the team and mainplayer.. Why does the DIMS have to knowingly LIE all the time...

I think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

I think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

I think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

I think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

Were you born and raised to be this ignorant?

Ignorance means "lacking knowledge". Just telling you so you can use it correctly in the future.

Bush/Cheney had a separate program called "Wide Receiver". It was run differently and managed well. It informed the Mexican govt about arms being smuggled. And it tracked the arms, and apprehended the dealers and the drug cartel contacts. There were prosecutions that resulted. All the guns were recovered and there were no deaths.

In Fast-n-furious, the arms were NOT tracked. The Mexican govet was NOT informed. There were NO arrests, much less prosecutions that resulted from the program (until after it was exposed, and in toto I think only two people have been charged, while over 2,000 automatic weapons were smuggled). Finally, there were many Mexican, and at least one American deaths from the program.

The suspicion is that the programs were designed differently for a purpose. And it is believed that the purpose was merely to document gun-smuggling, and then use that data to justify new gun control laws in the US, especially regarding automatic weapons (the ban on automatic weapons expired several years ago).

What evidence is there to suspect this?

1) Janet Napolitano complained about the "large traffic in smuggling arms from the US to mexican drug cartels" early in the Administration. It was odd because she spoke most strongly of weapons smuggling from the US to Mexico, instead of human or drug smuggling from Mexico to the US.

www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1241706742872.shtm

2) Holder did his own interview emphasizing weapons smuggling to Mexican drug cartels

www.youtube.com/watch

3) When the SCOTUS ruled that the right to bear arms was an individual right, AG Holder held a press conference saying "This Admin will not stop pursuing gun control" and called for "brainwashing" the public to be more anti-gun.

So.....what were Pres. Obama, AG Holder, and Sec Napolitano doing "under the radar" to promote gun control? What actions did they have in play to "brainwash" the general public after the SCOTUS ruling? Have we seen anything?

The only thing that has surfaced is "Fast-n-Furious". And it was, oddly enough, run by homeland security and DOJ. And it focused on smuggling arms to Mexico. And it didn't try to interdict the arms smuggling, but merely kept track of it (how many arms were smuggled). It didn't arrest anyone. It didn't prosecute anyone. And the AG has said the "program was badly managed and poorly organized", but no one has been identified as the person who approved the program, no one has been disciplined for the way it was managed, and no one has been held responsible for the death of Officer Terry and fired. In fact, several of the senior people that have been connected to the program have been PROMOTED.

So, what are we to conclude from this evidence? Why has the Presidnet invoked EP on 95% of the material sought by the Oversight Cmte? Documents that are protected supposedly because they contain "deliberative information"? The DOJ has admitted it was a botched program, but it won't hold anyone accountable and won't release 95% of the documents.

What are they covering up? Did they really engage in a conspircy to undermine US law regarding smuggling weapons in an effort to create a justification for new gun control laws by gun-walking them to drug czars and resulting in the death of Mexican and US citizens? We are talking hundreds of dead, innocent people.

Karl Rove has produced Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, about who contributes to Crossroads GPS, the superpac he is fronting for his conservative political causes such as supporting Mitt Romney and Republican candidates.

Rumor has it that not only are there several Ugly Old Casino Magnets funding Crossroads, but there ar also Foreign Governments as well as Mexican Drug Cartels.

Fast and Furious is history. AG Holder put an end to it.

Crossroads GPS is Current, happening as we type and speak. Who is behind Crossroads GPS? Really? Who is trying to buy political office, including the President of the United States of America.

Really Crossroads. Who is buying our elections.

The People want to know. We don't give a darn about Fast and Furious. It is nothing but history now.

AdSin15 Party: Liberal Reply #7 Jun. 21, 2012 - 9:44 AM ESTI think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

Not only is thisguy ignorant, he is also a left wing radical who can only see with rose covered glasses, the government to this person is the solution to everything, to hell with the laws.

Rumor has it that not only are there several Ugly Old Casino Magnets funding Crossroads, but there ar also Foreign Governments as well as Mexican Drug Cartels.

I don't doubt it for an instant. Of course the Cartels are contributing to Republican PACs. What better way to ensure that drugs remain illegal (and ridiculously profitable) in America AND ensure the steady availability of high capacity assault weapons?

"I think it's cute that Republicans think Bush should be allowed to get away with treason, murder and war crimes while Obama should be held accountable for this. It's amusing in a whimsical sort of way.

Were you born and raised to be this ignorant?"

What kind of rebuttal is THAT? Bush admitted to wiretapping, torture and starting a war under false pretenses. There has been no evidence Obama had anything to do with Fast and Furious. Or even Holder for that matter. Holder did what Bush's AG would not do after 3 failed gun walking operations......ended the program. Anyone who cannot acknowledge the facts has no business calling someone else ignorant.